


The Reality of Bullworth

by Little_Bo_Bleep



Category: Bully (Video Games)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Drama, Eventual Romance, F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-22
Updated: 2019-01-22
Packaged: 2019-10-14 09:48:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 20,168
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17506301
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Little_Bo_Bleep/pseuds/Little_Bo_Bleep
Summary: What if Gary never sought reign over the school? What if someone prevented him from going full-on sociopathic, turning everyone against everyone constantly, especially against Jimmy? One brave kid will do their best in order to prevent any conflict, and will stop at nothing for peace.





	1. Big News

"Mikey!" Trevor retorted as I stalked him. I couldn't help but chuckle. Eventually, Trevor headbutted Michael, and the word 'Wasted' was plastered across my screen.  
"Aww, he killed mee-"

"Katherine!" My mother called out. I paused the game.

"Yes, mother?" I answered, annoyed.

"Come into the kitchen please, your father and I would like to speak to you."

I gulped. I hoped I hadn't cursed too loud, but that's most likely why I'm in trouble. I begrudgingly got off my spot on the bed, and went into the kitchen. Inside, I saw my parents sitting at the dining table, with serious looks on their faces.

"What did you guys want to talk about?" I asked. I clasped my hands behind my back, looking as presentable as I could, wearing an oversized sweater that covered my pyjama shorts.

"Honey, I don't if there's an easy way to say this, but.."

"But?"

"We're moving to Bullworth."

"We're moving to Bu-what?"

"Bullworth." My mother repeated.

I had no idea where or what that was. My nerves had calmed down a bit. I walked over to the fridge, and opened it, looking for orange juice. As I browsed, I said, "Doesn't sound far. Where is it at?"

"New England."

"...And where is New England?" I looked to my parents once again, leaning back, and holding onto the handle of the fridge.

"Near Massachusetts." I choked on the saliva that was going down my throat, and tried not to fall backwards. My mom quickly rose out of her seat, and began to pat my back. After I finished my fit of coughing, I looked back at them with wide eyes.

"We're going to New England?! Why did no one tell me! Have you guys told other people?!"

"...Yes?" My dad said, unsure.

"Don't tell me you told Nathan." My dad looked down, scratching his head, while my mom continued.

"We might've. And all of your close relatives."

"Why?! Nathan doesn't even live here anymore! He's at UC San Diego! Why am I always last to know?" I pouted. How could they tell my brother, who's going to spend 4+ years at school to master every skill he desires, and my lame cousins.

""We didn't want to worry you."

"Well that's typical." I crossed my arms.

"Well Missy, you should start packing your bags soon, because we're leaving in two weeks." My dad grunted.

"Two weeks?! What about my friends, school, family, everything? Are the pets coming along too? What about my AP assignment?" I could feel sadness and dread at the thought of leaving my hometown.

"Within these two weeks, you are to prepare your belongings, and you may say goodbye to friends and family. Of course, we are taking them as well. We already spoke to the school about that. I've returned your assignment. I suggest you start one or the other, as of right now."

I looked at my mom, helpless. I would argue why they hadn't told me earlier, but it's no use. What's done is done. I sighed, defeated. My mom got up, and put her hand on my shoulder. I looked up at her.

"You should start packing sweetie. I've packed most of your clothing already, just go and pack your other things. Two weeks can fly by pretty quickly." She looked at me with loving eyes.

"Okay..." I walked back to the open fridge, and grabbed a juice box.

"Could I at least know why?" I opened the straw obnoxiously, and inserted it into the box.

"Dad has an amazing once in a lifetime opportunity over there. We've seen that he can work at Spencer Industries, and on the other part of the town, there should be a school not too far from it. Don't worry honey, it's going to be fine. It'll be a fresh start like you always wanted, and you can make new friends. Plus, we've found a lovely home that I think you'll love."

"All right."

I sipped at my juice, walking back to my room. I went to my closet, and found an old dark pink suitcase, and wondered what I'd put in there. I decided to call my best friend to make plans of our last weekend's together while I put away my belongings. Little did I know, the words of my mother came true, as the two weeks were now memories to my friends and me.

 

* * *

 

"We're here!" I heard my father's voice exclaimed excitedly. My dog, a fluffy little Yorkie named Bella, barked in response to Dad. I groaned, and rubbed my eyes. I looked out my window, and saw a beautiful two story house. I noticed it had fence around the roof, which I thought was a little strange. Nevertheless, I too began to feel impatient to enter. I opened my door, and jumped out.

"Perfect price for the perfect home."

"Dad, I think there's a piece of cement from the wall broken over there."

"...I'll fix it soon." I rolled my eyes. That soon meant now, or never. I knew it to be the latter. I walked around the fence, and went up to the gate. My dad soon opened it with a key. I walked up the tiny steps, and noticed a pile of broken blue and red... Clay?

"Dad, what's this?" I questioned, picking up a single piece. He finally looked over after he opened the front door.

"I think that might've been a gnome or something. Why don't you go and check out the backyard?"

"All right!" I was happy to see how big it was. I jogged to the back, and was disappointed to see that we had no privacy, since you could clearly see through the fence. I looked up, and noticed that there was a balcony in the back too. If that was a bedroom, I really wanted that one.

"I looked around once more, and went inside my new home through the back door.


	2. New House, New Town

The room looked so big, especially since it was vacant. To my right, were double doors. They left me curious. To my left was a single door. Across from me, was an archway, where I could see my dad entering through the front door, carrying two boxes, careful not to trip on Bella, or the cats. My mom followed en suite, carrying a box titled, "Katherine's Clothes" in cursive. I jogged up to her to retrieve my clothing.

"I heard that the previous owners had a daughter that left a some things behind; you should check it out." My mother smiled.

"I will!" I responded, excited. I went up the stairs, and saw two big rooms. I went inside the smaller one, and I was surrounded by pink: baby pink and white stripes, bordered by white, and then baby pink again but in a slightly darker shade. Even the windowsills were pink. She had left behind lacy light pink curtains, why she left them behind, I'll never know. She also left behind a white dresser, which was detailed with intricate pink flowers on each drawer which reminded me of my home, a small conservative town.

I soon heard my dog running up the stairs by hearing her nails click against the wooden floor, chasing my cats, Loki and Thor, into my new bedroom. They ran around the room, and quickly left, to chase them downstairs. I put my box of clothes near the dresser, and decided to see what was inside this white door that seemed to be at the far left corner of the room from where I was previously standing at the doorway.

The pink in the bathroom was in a darker than the bedroom, lining the ceiling. Then white tiles, then pink tiles again. The floor had white tiles. The next thing I noticed was that the handles for the sink, toilet, cabinets, and bathtub were gold; so was the towel rack. The weren't any windows, the only light were the lights on the wall next to the mirror which had pink borders, and one on the ceiling. The cabinets were at least white. I heard a familiar pattern of footsteps walk up beside me.

"Could use a little more pink, don't you think?" My mom joked.

"Maybe, I think my pink and purple towels will look nice." I said in seriousness.

"Well, I'll bring up the rest of your things, and the Move It guys should come soon to bring our furniture. I'll leave you be." She rubbed my back, and patted it.

I went towards my box, and decided to fold my clothes to store them inside the dresser while listening to  _Heavydirtysoul_.

* * *

 

As soon as I had finished storing clothes, moving furniture, and decorating my room, I was called downstairs for dinner. I rubbed Bella's head to wake her up. She did, and jumped off the bed to follow me into the kitchen. My cats were already there, at their bowls, waiting for supper. I smiled at their cuteness. I gave them all food and water, then I grabbed a plate for my self. We didn't have any groceries, so my dad ordered pizza. I grabbed a slice, a Beam Cola, and sat down with my parents at the island counter.

"So, school starts Monday-" my dad began. I bit into my pizza, not reacting to his statement.

"It's a boarding school. Boarding school means uniforms, and this one means prefects." I felt the piece of food that I just swallowed lodge in my throat, and quickly forced it down with soda to stop from choking.

"W-what?!  _Uniforms?!_  Again, why am I never told these things early? And what are prefects anyway?" I didn't want to be caught dead in a uniform, and felt myself die a little knowing I'll have to be wearing prudishly-long skirts every day, five days a week.

"Prefects are there to watch over you kids, make sure there is no violence, drugs, or harassment." My dad scrolled through his phone, sipping from his soda.

"Oh. What do the uniforms look like?" I looked at him while eating.

"No clue, but school colors seem to be blue and green." I hummed in response.

"Hmm. What about my schedule?"

"You'll receive it tomorrow. I read into the way the school functions, and noticed you have two classes per day." I perked up.

"Really? That's so cool!" This school sounds pretty great so far!

"Morning classes begin at 9:30am, ending around 11am. Noon classes begin at 1:30pm, ending at 3:30pm." I groaned, and face planted the counter. Every day was going to be a block day, which I sort of hated.

"When it isn't time for class, it's free time. Curfew is at 11pm, which your mother and I will apply to you even if you don't live in the dorms." I shrugged. It sounded reasonable. My mom stopped using her phone, and looked over at me. I quickly glanced to check the time on my phone, to see it was 5:14pm. I looked up, giving her my attention.

"Sweetie, have you finished unpacking everything?"

"Yes, just need my desk, and bookshelf, I think." I drank the rest of my soda.

"I think you should take your bike and ride around the town to familiarize yourself with it. Meanwhile, your father and I will go buy groceries. And who knows, you might make some friends!" She said with such hope.

"I think I will." I grabbed my plate, and my empty can of Cola. I put my plate in the sink, and recycled the can. As I exited the kitchen, my mom stopped me. I looked at her questioningly.

"What?"

"Here's $25 in case you get hungry." She handed me the money.

"Thank you." She smiled lovingly, and went back into the kitchen. I had been wearing cozy clothing all day, since the time we arrived, which had been around 7am. I left my Rick and Morty shirt on, changing into a blue pleated skirt, black shorts hiding under my skirt so anyone looking for something will only see complete darkness, and slipped on my black canvas shoes, which took a small moment to tie each foot.

My hair was already in two buns since I needed my hair out of my way earlier, so I decorated them with pearl scrunchies. I placed light blue bows in the center of each bun, and smiled at how cute they were. I stared at my face, wondering if I needed any make-up. I decided for a slight "no make-up" make-up look.

After swiping on brown eyeliner, mascara, dabing blush here and there, along with concealer, a bit of red lipstick, I was ready to go. I picked up a small pink gingham blanket from the top of my dresser, and grabbed Bella from my bed. I carefully walked rapidly down the stairs. With my free hand, I took my black bomber jacket off of the coat hanger, which conveniently also had my heart-shaped backpack that had bat wings. It felt a little heavy, and thought to check it once I placed Bella in the basket of my bike.

Once I did, I rummaged through the backpack. I saw that my mom had given me a water bottle, my wallet, and two snack bars. I placed my phone and money inside, then slipped on the straps. I walked my bike up to the gate, opening it. After I closed it, I mounted on the bike, and rode off the sidewalk.

Earlier, when I first arrived, I noticed a huge house in the middle of the neighborhood. I was curious to know what it was. As I was trying to go around it, I saw a lot of expensive looking houses that were at least three stories high, and an entrance to Old Bullworth Vale's Garden. Once I saw what the big house was, I realized it was a retirement home called "Happy Endings Retirement Home". I found it a little odd, but remembered my own hometown had churches and the funeral home in neighborhoods too. Bella barked at me for slowing down.

I went along my way, then turned a right, which went slightly downhill. I was scared to fall face first, so I continuously used my brakes. At the bottom, I saw a burger joint at the right corner simply called "Burgers". I smiled at the simplicity of it. I thought it was a good idea to bike in that path. As I did, I noticed two more restaurants, "Shinjo's", and "Home Made Ice Cream".

' _This town must be really straight forward then_.' I thought.

There was a shop on the corner titled, "Bikes Shiny Bikes", which sounded as if a 10-year-old named it. Next to it was "Dry Seaman Bear", making me chuckle a bit at the poor wording. Then "Boar Inn", making me assume it's a hotel. I next saw a giant crab hanging over what must be a seafood restaurant, but lacked a name, and so did the building next to it.

I kept going, and saw there was an area for pedestrians only. There was a movie theater, and it made me happy to know I wouldn't have to ride the ferry out of here or need a car ride to another district to see a movie.

The following building was an emergency medical center, another seafood restaurant, Old Bullworth Vale's Coffee Shop, a store for fish bait, an unnamed building, and finally, Yum Yum Market. I wondered if I should take a turn, or keep heading straight. I saw a huge building in the distance, and made a decision.

Drawing near to the building, I saw a huge archway, guarded by iron gates. I finally saw it was Bullworth Academy. I sat there, in awe, until I was brought back into reality when someone honked their horn. I moved onto the sidewalk, and put the bike on its kickstand. I stared through the front iron gates, and saw the tall building that had piqued my interest in the first place. There were even stairs leading up to it. It looked very intimidating, I wondered how the students must be like. They're either going to all be snotty stuck up rich kids, or dorks. For a moment, I worried if I'd find anyone to befriend, but I knew ever since I was a kid, I'd always manage to make friends.

But times have changed, and I'm not a little kid anymore. I sighed, backing away from the gates. I looked down, but quickly glanced up when something caught my eye. On the pillars that held lights, there was some metallic shield on each one. I took out my phone, and zoomed in on them with my camera. They seemed embedded into the pillars. They had an interesting picture on each four sides of the shield thing: a fist on the top left corner, a snake next to it, a skull under the snake, and a... rat? Next to the skull. I put my phone away, and thought it was so weird for a rat to be to be on it.

' _Well, this town is a little peculiar to begin with_.'

I got back on my bike, riding into Old Bullworth Vale. This time I went on the path I didn't go on. I found a drug store, right across from Bolt, sounding like a boxing store, with what it advertised on the banner. Two boys exited from the buildiing; a well built blonde boy, standing next to a tall red head, who was well built too. They were both wearing expensive looking clothing. I couldn't help but gawk at the blonde boy, but unfortunately he caught me staring. I looked away, and raced back home.

I had spent about half an hour in town, but I didn't mind. I put my bike leaning against the house, and took out Bella. She ran off the the backyard, where her bowls food and water were.

After I locked the front door, I kicked off my shoes, calling after my mother. The house was usually silent in response. I called out again. I headed into the kitchen for cold water, and noticed a sticky note on the fridge. It read, "Went to buy some more supplies. Xoxo". I crumpled it, throwing it into the trash. I chugged my water as I went into the living room, plopped down on the couch, placing my now empty glass of water. I turned on the T.V. for background noise, and flipped through channels until I found Cartoon Network/Adult Swim. I scrolled through social media on my phone until I passed out.

* * *

 

Three hours later, I heard someone's voice.

"Sweeetie, wake up." I heard a female's voice coo. I groaned.

"Five more minutes.." I turned around, snuggling against a pillow.

"Katherine.." They warned. I sighed, and sat up, rubbing my eyes tiredly.

"What do you waaant?" I whined, stretching. I glanced up at Mom. She looked at me with a face.

"While your father and I were at the store, we met another couple whose kid was also starting school tomorrow! Isn't that such a great coincidence?" She smiled.

"I guess-" I stopped when I saw a cute, small boy step up from behind a couple. He was dressed sharply, but looked down out of shyness. I stood up, and went up to him.

"Hi! You're so cute! How old are you, 12?" I asked, crouching down a bit.

"Um, Elizabeth, he's your age." Mom grimaced. My eyes widened, I felt my face burning up with embarrassment.

"Oh! Crap, I'm sorry." I straightened my back, rubbing the back of my neck. I thought my face must've been as red as a tomato.

"I-it's okay, That happens a l-little often. I'm Peter Kowalski." He held out his hand. I shook it vigorously. He seemed taken aback, but soon laughed at my enthusiasm.

"And I'm Katherine Presley, but you can call me Kat if you'd like." I clasped my hands together behind my back, tilting my head.

"You can call me P-pete." He now didn't look as nervous as when he first entered the room. I soon noticed that both of our parents had gone into the kitchen.

"So, Pete, since our parents are chatting in the kitchen, how about we get to know each other?" I walked back onto the couch, and turned the T.V. on. Rick and Morty was now playing on the screen. I sat down, and pat the seat next to me, inviting Pete. He sat a little far from me, but I didn't really mind.

"So, what are your favorite shows?"

* * *

 

After saying my goodbyes to Pete and his parents, I grabbed a chocolate muffin from the kitchen, a mug of cold milk, and left for my bedroom. Bella followed me upstairs. I set down my snack on my dresser, and changed into pyjamas.

After slipping my socks off with my feet, I crawled into bed, placing my mug on the floor. I checked the time on my phone; 10:14pm. I placed it on my end table, and left it to charge. I had set the alarm to 6:50am. I jumped out, remembering to wash my face. When I finished, I turned on my Xbox, and began to continue finishing off Strangers and Freaks in GTA 5, until midnight, when I fell asleep to the sound of Trevor's insults.


	3. First Day of School

My eyes shot open as I heard my alarm. My face scrunched up, and I buried myself into my pillow. I exhaled into it, then reached for my phone. I turned off the alarm, giggling when I saw my cats scurry under my bed. I would usually yearn to stay in bed, but having a new school motivated me out of bed. I showered with cold water, which woke me up.

_'Hmm, I should wear something that'll be easy to change out of.'_

I headed over to my dresser, pulling out undergarments, a light pink shirt that says 'Death Metal', but is covered in rainbows, light blue overalls, and white anklets. For shoes, I decided to wear my brown Mary Janes. I tied my hair into two high pigtails to complete the childish look. After applying make-up, I was ready to go. I grabbed my backpack from the foot of my bed, heading down for breakfast. The smell of pancakes was in the air, making my stomach growl. I saw the back of my mom, standing in front of the stove. She was already dressed up for work, too.

"Your pancakes are on the counter, sweetie. Syrup and butter are in the fridge." She added pancake mix onto a pan, and sizzled. I walked over to the fridge to grab said ingredients. I slathered the pancake in butter, then soaked it in maple syrup. I grabbed a glass cup of milk, and made chocolate milk with some Nesquik powder. After putting everything back, I sat down at the counter to eat.

"Do you have all your supplies honey?"

"Yup!" I retorted, with my mouth full of food.

You suuure?"

"Umm.." I quickly stuffed my mouth to chew while I checked my bag. I had my binder, lined paper, at least seven notebooks, my sketch book, headphones, a pencil case with color pencils and mechanical pencils. I checked my other pockets to make sure I had erasers, extra pencils, led, sharpeners, etc. I had everything I needed. I thought I should grab a jacket in case any teachers turn up their A/C after breakfast.

"All set." I took a swig of milk, and continued eating.

"I'll be having interviews throughout the day, while your dad goes over to Blue Skies. I'll drop you off today, and also pick you up. Just send me a message, all right?" She turned off the stove, storing away leftover pancakes into plastic containers.

I put my dirty dishes into the sink, glancing at the time on the stove afterwards; 8:30am.

I jogged outside to see my mom barely starting the car. I climbed inside, and she handed me a white bunny-eared jacket. I stuffed it into my backpack, and shut the door. After buckling up my seat belt, I looked for comfort in a classic rock radio. I heard Clint Eastwood playing, so I left the channel there. Mom had already pulled out of the driveway, driving down the road to school. I could feel the butterflies in my stomach, suddenly having second thoughts about my outfit. I was almost afraid to leave, but I knew I had to face all of the school alone. I texted Petey, thinking of meeting up with him. The butterflies fluttered more and more, to the point I felt nauseous.

 **Kat** : Hey Pete, are you at school yet?

I waited for a reply, anxious. Not a moment later did he respond, to which I was very thankful for.

 **Pete** : Yeah, just arrived. About to head into the gates.

My grew eyes large, quickly typing to stop him from going on.

 **Kat** :  **WAIT!**

 **Pete** : What?

 **Kat** : Don't go inside yet, wait for meee!

 **Pete** : All right, but hurry. I don't want any students to see me while they're dropped off.

The school came into view as we got off the bridge.

 **Kat** : Be there in a few seconds.

Soon I saw Pete leaning against a pillar. He looked relieved. I got out of the car, telling my mom I love her as she wished me good luck. I slid on my backpack.

"Hey Pete, how's it going?"

"Glad you literally meant a fee seconds. I'm hoping no bullies have seen me yet."

I gave him a confused look.

"Bullies? What do you mean? I never had bullies at my old school."

He looked at me, surprised.

"Kat, d-don't you know? This is the worst school in the entire country."

I nervously chuckled, thinking he was joking with me. He didn't say "Ha!", or "Got you!", though. I stared at him, still confused. He sighed.

"Wow, you really didn't know, did you?"

"Know what?" I was growing impatient.

Students walking into the school looked over at us, but I didn't really care.

"Pete, what do you mean?"

He opened his mouth to reply, but none came as a random boy with a dark teal vest came up to him. The boy wrapped his arm around Pete's shoulders welcoming him, then looked at me.

"Hello Pete, and girl Pete paid  _handsomely_  to act as his friend."

I crossed my arms, immediately feeling angered about his reply.

"Gary, don't be a jerk. This is my friend, Kat. Kat, this is Gary, a childhood friend of mine."

"Pete, where did you find someone willing to act as your friend? They must be really desperate for money if they're around you." He taunted.

"Hey! He didn't pay me, so quit being a jerk! Our parents met each other, then introduced us! I am genuinely his friend, thank you very much!" Gary smirked.

"Oh, so you must be pleasing mommy and daddy, little girl? Anything to gain your parents' validation, since you dress so  _weird_."

I felt the anger within me increase. It took everything not to just curse him out, or to  ** _hurt_**  him.

" _Mommy_  and D _addy_  love me unconditionally, you asshat. If you're poking so much at me, then it must mean that you're insecure about your own parents' love!" I yelled.

"Woah, calm down, I was just having some fun! Look, I'm sorry, okay? So stop pouting." Gary had removed his arm from Pete, raising both his arms up in defeat. I exhaled, pinching the bridge of my nose, trying to calm myself down.

"Fine. Only because this is my first day of school, and I don't want to be late."

"Ooh, it's the first day for all of us! Let us go into the school, my chumps!" He turned on his heels, walking into school merrily. Once he was out of ear shot, I turned to Pete.

"What's his problem?"

"I'll tell you about it later, C'mon, we should go too, before we're late." I nodded I'm agreement, both of us catching up to Gary, who had stopped to wait.

"Gotta be faster than that, you slugs."

"Gary, one of these days I'm going to punch you in the face so Goddamn hard you'll be sorry for your smartass remarks."

"I'd love to see you try, girlie."

"Whatever." As I looked away from Gary, my eyes landed on the girl's dorm. I tried to take I'm as much details as possible, then looked the opposite way to see a boys' dorm. They were both two stories, and judging from the amount of windows, there must be a whole lot of students here.

Standing at the bottom of the steps of the school, I hesitated to go up. Since the moment the three of us had stepped on school grounds, there has been nothing but whispers, giggles, and taunts. I was usually used to such reactions, but now they were getting to me. I saw Gary and Pete go up. I noticed they both sported Jansport backpacks. I caught up to them before I was left behind. At the double doors in front of the school, I took a deep breath as Gary opened them both, Pete and I being right behind him.

Everyone glanced over at us, but some eyes didn't leave us. Kids began to whisper to their friends again. I looked straight ahead, avoiding eye contact, until I came to my senses.

"Uhh, where's the office?"

"Should be at the top of the stairs." Gary answered.

We all went to the office, Gary speaking up for us.

"Hello miss. We are all new students."

"Oh! There you all are. Dr. Crabblesnitch has been expecting you. His office is over here, just go through that door." She pointed at a door behind her.

"Thank you m'am."

_'What in the everloving Hell kind of name is_ _**Crabblesnitch** _ _? It even has the word snitch in it!'_

Inside Crabblesnitch's office, there were two chairs in front of his desk. Gary offered a chair to me, which made me roll his eyes at him. He wouldn't stop pointing at it though, so I sat down. Pete sat on the other chair, leaving Gary to lean against his chair. Crabblesnitch entered the office, and was wearing the ugliest suit I had ever seen. He greeted us as he took his seat. He took out some files from his desk, then named us off.

"Peter Kowalski, straight As, how impressive! Never done a naughty deed."

"Gary Smith, hmm, quite the unique case. Regardless, I hope you keep your nose clean."

"And Katherine Presley, a fine young lady with nothing but feedback of being an outstanding student, unafraid of standing out."

•••

After Crabblesnitch droned on about our records, he commanded us to receive our schedules, locker numbers, and uniforms from Miss Danvers.

"Jeez, it felt like that took an eternity. I didn't think he'd ever shut up about keeping our noses clean." I complained.

"He should leave us alone from now on, since we're not trouble makers."

"I hope so."

"You guys go get changed, I'll just wait for you downstairs."

"Wait, where are the bathrooms?"

"They should be on opposite side of the school. Girls' on the second floor are on the left side of the building, boys' are on the right."

I scurried off to the girls', luckily for me it was empty. I went inside the stall farthest from the entry. I folded my clothes neatly into my backpack. Once I was wearing my uniform, I got out of the stall and looked at myself in the mirror.

_"This green is literally like a Master Chief green.'_

I adjusted my red tie, and made sure my blouse was tucked in. I twirled around, seeing my skirt slightly flare out. I then met up with Gary, who was picking on a little kid. The kid ran away from him, crying out, "Momaaa!". I felt pity for him, and chastised Gary.

"Why are you such a Bully?"

"At this school, you're either the bully, or the bullied. So you choose." I shrugged.

"Neither."

"So bullied it is, then!"

"God damn it Gary-"

"Hey guys!" I heard Pete say behind me. I turned around.

"Hey Pete."

"What are you guys talking about?"

"Nothing much. Anyways, what's your schedule?"

Pete took his schedule out of pocket.

"Well, today I have English honors, and gym."

"Me too! What about you, Gary?"

"I have math, then gym."

"So we'll watch each other suffer through exercise. Nice." I commented. Gary glanced at his watch.

"We should go to class, it's about to start soon."

"What time is it?"

"9:23am, class starts in seven minutes."

"Fine, catch you later Gary!"

"Bye Gary!"

"Smell you later, girlies!" Pete frowned.

"Is being insulting and a smartass a part of his personality?"

"You get used to it." I thought about it for a moment, then stepped in front of Pete. The school was deserted now, save for the prefects patrolling the hallways. Pete was puzzled.

"What was it you were supposed to tell me about Gary again?"

"Look, I promise I'll tell you, but I don't want to be late." I help up my pinky.

"Pinky promise."

"Why?"

"Because you said you promised. So pinky promise me." He grinned.

"Okay, Kat. I pinky promise."

After my shenanigans, we finally headed to English class with a minute to spare.

 

* * *

 

"Ugh, I'm staaarving. The kid next to me in class even said that my stomach growls sound like a lion's roar. I was so embarrassed."

"Well, hopefully the food is good."

"It better be. I'm not gonna waste my time with crappy food."

The lunch line was barely moving, but once we were at the front, I was grossed out by a repulsive smell.

"Oh God, what is that smell?! Did someone just fart?"

"Kat, I think it's from the food itself."

"What?! No way!" I inched closer to the food, and Petey was right. I flinched at the smell of food.

"I feel like my nose has been violated." I pinched my nose. Pete shook his head.

"Get used to it, princess." I heard Gary's voice say. I peered behind me.

"Gary, when did you get here?"

"Just now."

"Creep."

"Weirdo."

I looked at the menu, and today's special was 'Curiously Crusty Clam Croquet', which sounded disgusting. I took whatever seemed the most edible. I grabbed an apple, and began to eat it. I peeked into the kitchen, and saw a bag of dog food. I didn't understand why that was there, but then I thought about it...

Whatever of the apple I had been eating, left my mouth and landed on my food. Pete saw the chewed up apple on my food.

"Why did you put mashed potatoes on your pasta?"

"Pete, look in the kitchen." I pointed at the doorway.

"Do you see the dog food?"

"She doesn't.."

"I heard someone say they found a toenail in today's special." Gary added.

"Ew, that's disgusting!"

"You know, we can sneak out, go into Old Bullworth Vale to grab something to eat from Burgers." Gary mentioned.

"Yeah, screw this! No way am I going to be eating dog food!" I dumped my food into a trashcan.

"Guys, w-we can't sneak out."

"Why not?" I asked Pete.

"Because it's our first day! And besides, I don't think students are allowed to leave during school hours."

"Pete, I know it's the first day, but there's no way I'm going to eat garbage. I'm concerned about getting caught too, but if no one sees us, then did it really happen?" I winked at him.

"C'mon Pete, don't be such a wuss!" Pete looked very conflicted, but gave in to our coaxing.

"Okay! As long as we're not late to class." He pouted.

"Relax, it's like 11:40am. Class doesn't resume until 1:30pm. We got time to kill." Gary assured.

"Yay Pete!" I exclaimed. Pete and Gary threw away their plates of food.

"So, how're we gonna do this?"

"I was here for orientation, I think I might know a few spots that we can climb over." Gary began to jog away. Pete was still a little hesitant, so I dragged him by the wrist.

Outside, I looked around to see a few students hanging around.

"Lead the way, Gary."

"Just don't fall behind."

" _Just don't fall behind_." I mocked. Gary was annoyed, but we did start to follow him. He went around the school, and we found ourselves in a parking lot.

"This is where bullies hang out. Don't look at them for too long, or they'll hurt you." I nodded in acknowledgement.

"How are we gonna get out through here?" I questioned him.

"Let's see if we can climb over the fence behind the bus."

Inside the bus, I heard a lot of commotion outside. I heard someone yell, then marbles were thrown, and I heard people being chased. This really  _was_  a bad school.

"This part of the fence doesn't have barbed wires, and with each others' help, we should all be able to climb over. Kat, you're first." Gary got down on one knee, and cupped his hands together.

"When I say go, you're going to run, and jump off of my hand. Ready?"

I walked backwards, to gather up speed. I stood in a runner's position.

"Ready."

"Go!"

I sprinted up to Gary, and jumped onto his knee. With his help, I landed on the other side of the fence. Surprisingly, there was a huge boulder there, so the fence was only a few inches off of the boulder. I saw Pete do the same thing as me, and I helped him up. It was now Gary's turn. He copied us, but was able to jump and climb over on his own.

As he stood up, he patted down his uniform to remove any dirt.

"That was easy."

"You're surprisingly strong."

"Survival of the fittest." He smiled a toothy grin. I couldn't help but giggle. We made our way across the flat boulder, and jumped into a dirt path.

"Now, where to, captain?" I teased.

"Now, me scurvy sailors, we walk into town in search of fast food." He continued on with the joke; I love it.

At Burgers, we all ordered different meals: Gary got The Better Burger, Pete bought a hot dog, and I went for a cheeseburger. We all bought large cokes, and large crispy fries. Once we received our food, we gathered all of our fries, and dumped them onto the tray, which we put in the center. We talked throughout our entire time there. Yeah, Gary can be ass sometimes, but despite that, we were all able to have a good time just chatting away, laughing about stupid things, reminiscing of memories that we loved so much we just had to share.

It just felt so right, and so fun. I didn't want the moment to end, it felt like I was living in a typical teen high school movie, or an anime of a group of friends all having a good time. It was the beginning of a great friendship.

 

* * *

 

"I regret eating all those fries and drinking all that Beam Cola." I choked out as I ran around the football field.

"Same!" I heard a girl's voice say. I stopped to catch my breath, and saw a red-headed girl smile at me. But it quickly faded as she looked behind me. I wanted to see what made her upset, but just when I thought about it, she spoke.

"Hey, you should start running again, or at least stop bending over if you don't want any trouble from the teacher." She warned.

"He can't get me in trouble just for taking a breather-"

"Presley! Get your ass over here,  **now**!" The creepy teacher screamed.

The red head gave me a sympathetic look, then continued jogging. I rolled my eyes. I jogged to the teacher, Burton, and awaited more screaming.

"Why don't you join the cheerleading squad?" He asked. I was dumbfounded that he wasn't angry at me for stopping, and even more so that he asked me such a question.

"W-what? Me? I'd rather not, sir."

"Okay, but if you ever fail an assignment, it's pleated skirts and pom poms for you."

There was no way I was going to hang with stuck up snobby wannabe models. I went back to being far behind Pete and Gary.

 

* * *

 

After changing back into my uniform, the school day was finally over. I stood in front of the girls' locker room mirror, fixing my make-up. Then, I saw a familiar redhead standing behind me. I turned to look at her, and she waved. I stopped what I was doing.

"Did he do anything?" She wondered.

"What? What do you mean? All he said is that I should join the cheerleading squad. I turned it down, so he told me whenever I fail an assignment I'll have to join."

"Oh, you really should join! We don't have many girls on the team, and it's always nice to see a fresh face!" She mentioned. I leaned against the sink.

"I'd rather not, as you could tell by my performance out there earlier, I'm not very athletic."

"During practice, learning new cheers isn't all we do."

"Tell you what, I'll think about it."

"Sure, just find me when you've made up your mind. I'm Christy Martin, by the way." With that, she finally left the bathroom. I sighed, putting away my things into my backpack. I pulled out my phone to check out the time. It was a little after 3:30pm. I wondered if Gary and Pete were up to anything.


	4. Trio of Fun

I thought I should text only Petey, but knew if Gary was with him, he'd want to see what I said. It's wiser to talk to just speak to Pete about it in private. I pulled out my phone.

 **Kat** : Hey, where are you? And will you be busy?

I left the gym, to go wait for Pete at the front of the school. My phone buzzed in my backpack on the way there.

 **Pete** : I'm with Gary at the boy sldhljdshsjnih

I was baffled by his text, but another one was sent from him.

 **Pete** : At the boys' dorm, girlie.

 **Kat** : Which room.

 **Pete:** First floor, last door on the right. Come inside if you don't get caught.

"Oooh, I'll show him!" I grumbled. I jogged to the boys dorm, hoping I didn't look too suspicious. I looked around, making sure no one was looking when I ran up the stairs, and into the dorm. Inside, there were paintings of what I assume are historical figures, along the walls. I saw a water fountain to my right. I crouched down, hiding behind a trash can. I peeked around the corner; the coast was clear. I sprinted down the hallway, and skidded to a stop in front of some stairs. To the left of the stairs, was a door. I was about to open the door, when I heard someone yell, "What the hell?!". I jumped, fear coursing through my chest. I slowly turned my head to the left, but didn't see anybody. I looked up the staircase, but there wasn't anyone there either. I shrugged it off, then entered the room, praying that Gary didn't text me the wrong directions.

Luckily, he didn't because as I entered the bedroom, I saw Pete rubbing his right arm, and Gary next to him, laughing. I glared at Gary.

"Dude, give Pete a break, seriously."

"Awe, but it's so fun pushing him around."

"Gary..." I growled.

"Okay, okay, I'll leave him alone. You don't have to turn into mama bear."

I playfully pushed Gary, which earned me a rough push back. I laughed. I looked around the room. There were two beds, both with their headframes against the wall with a window looming each of them. There was a bookshelf covering the right corner of the room, and a file cabinet. There was another bookshelf at the left, but it didn't cover the corner. A wardrobe was placed in the center of the left wall. Next to the door, was a tall dresser, and a desk. Everything was surprisingly neat, except for the desk, and one of the beds. The desk had pill bottles that were either empty, or spilled. There were blank papers scattered across the desk, and the small trashcan was overflowing with crumpled up papers, pens, and a few worn out pencils. I turned my attention back to Gary. He rose up from his seat on the messy bed, glancing over at Petey and me.

"Ah, the day is young, and so are we. Shall we do anything, say, mischievous?" There was a playful glint in Gary's eyes.

"I don't know, have we all finished our homework?" I asked.

"Finished mine in class." Pete assured.

"Yes; now, the real question is, have you finished yours, Kat?" I scoffed at Gary.

"Yes, smartass, I finished it in class with Pete."

"Then there's nothing to worry about."

"Yeah, I-" I stopped mid-sentence as I remembered something important. I narrowed my eyes, wondering what that important thing was.

"Umm, Kat?" Pete croaked.

"Kat?" I gasped, as I registered the fact that I not only left my Xbox on, but also that I.  _Didn't_.  _ **Save**_.

"Kat?! What happened?! Are you okay?!" I heard Pete worry.

"SorryguysbutI _really_ gottagosobye!" I would've shot out the door like a bullet, but Gary's tight grasp on my arm stopped me. I retraced my arm as if I had just touched fire when I felt Gary's hand on me.

"Dude! What the Hell?!" Gary had the most confused look on his face.

"What do you mean, 'Dude, what the Hell?'!? What was that all about? What did you even  _say_?"

" If you must know, I was playing GTA last night, and I just realized that I never saved it, nor did I turn it off this morning. Hopefully my mom hasn't turned off my Xbox or something!" Gary's face soon contorted into a grin.

"Great idea! Let's go over to your house!" I was about to reject his idea, but then I thought it couldn't be that bad.

"Are we just going to walk there?" I asked him.

"Don't worry, I have a bike!"

"Gary, we're not all gonna fit on one bike."

"Oh, you just watch."

Gary left the room, to go retrieve his bike. I looked over to Pete. I knew now was the perfect time to ask him about Gary's problem. I felt very nervous to ask, but I was just too curious.

"So, Pete... Could you now tell me about Gary's problem?" He looked a little worried, but told me anyways.

"Oh, yeah, that. Gary has A.D.D., and he's sociopathic. He takes meds to take care of his disorders, but he's Gary, and he can be pretty destructive, especially without meds."

"Hmm. Is he prone to doing anything erratic, like throwing his meds away?"

"You could say that.."

"Has he ever done that before?"

"Well, a couple times through our childhood, when he didn't take his meds, he was almost like a completely different person. The Gary you know is  _nice_ , compared to when he's off his meds. He'll go on and on about how he sees himself as a king, ruling over a huge kingdom, how he doesn't need medicine because he's so smart, and treats people like dirt."

"Between psychopaths and sociopaths, I know that sociopaths don't feel love. Does that go for Gary too?"

"Like Crabblesnitch said, he's a ' _unique_ ' case."

I was about to ask Pete what he meant by that, but suddenly Gary burst through the door with a smile.

"Let's go girls, before Kat loses her progress!" I stood up, grabbing my backpack. Pete didn't grab his, though.

"Pete, are you going to come?"

"Yeah, but I need to grab some more clothes from home."

"Why?"

"Because I'm now Gary's roomate."

"Ohhh. You should also bring a spray bottle too, for when Gary is misbehaving." I giggled. He laughed along with me. Gary was becomig impatient, tapping his foot.

"Are you guys done talking about your feelings, now?"

"Sure Gary. But I still don't see us all on just  _one_ bike."

"It  _will_ work, you'll see."

"I think Pete and I will be the judges of that." I looked at Pete, and he nodded.

We left the dorm, and Gary's bike was leaning against the staircase. Gary got on his bike, motioning for me to stand on the axle pegs of his bike. I got on, balancing myself by holding onto Gary's shoulders. I felt him tense up, but he eventually relaxed.

"Pete, sit in front of the bike."

"What? Why me?!"

"Because you're smaller than Kat. Come on, we don't want to take any longer." Pete gave me a disapproving look.

"Pete, it can't be  _that_ bad. My house is behind the retirement home, so it should be a short ride." I gave him a reassuring smile.

"Fine, I'll sit there, just don't crash into anything Gary." He warned, as he sat in front of him.

Gary struggled at first to get the bike moving, but soon we were on our way to the neighborhood up in Old Bullworth Vale.

"22 is the house number."

Gary stopped in front of the gate. I got off, and opened it. Pete hopped off, following me. I unlocked the front door, and closed it once the boys came in.

"Still getting settled, eh?" Gary noted, seeing boxes.

"Yeah, we've all been too busy to open them. My room is up the stairs, to the left. Bathroom is that door." I said, pointing to my left.

"Mom? Dad?" The house was silent, once again.  _Great_.

"Do you guys want anything to eat, or drink?" I offered.

"Could I have some water, please?" Pete asked shyly.

"Yup." I made my way into the kitchen.

"Make that two!" Gary called out. I grabbed two cold water bottles from the fridge. I threw one to Gary, and handed the other to Pete. I heard footsteps coming down the stairs, making everyone look up.

"Hello sweetie! Oh, I see you've made a new friend, how wonderful! What might your name be, young man?" She smiled at Gary.

"My name is Gary Smith, Ms. Presley." Gary put on the most innocent voice, to the point it was sickeningly sweet. My mom held out her hand.

"Well, Gary, it's a pleasure to meet you." They shook hands.

"The pleasure is all mine, Ms."

"And Peter, it's so nice to see you again! I'll leave you kids alone now. If you boys stay, just know I'm making spaghetti for dinner tonight. One of Katherine's favorites." She pretended to whisper the last part to them, and disappeared into the kitchen. We went upstairs, into my room. Once I shut the door, I blurted, "You're such a kissass, Gary."

"That's the number one way to win over an adult." He grinned. I blew raspberry at him.

"It looks like your Xbox is still on, Kat." I rushed over to Petey.

"Oh, thank God. Just give me a second to save it." I grabbed my controller, and made Trevor go to sleep. Afterwards, I turned off my Xbox.

"There. So, guys, what're we gonna do?" I asked them. Pete and Gary were both sitting on my bed, looking around my room.

"Why don't we go to the carnival? I heard that they've recently opened it." Gary suggested.

"Oooh, there's a carnival here? That's so cool!" I beamed, excited. Gary got up from my bed, ready to leave.

"The carnival? But what if there's bullies, or worse,  _jocks_?" Pete bleated.

"Pete, there's no way someone's gonna start up a fight in such a dense place, especially since there should be police guarding area."

"Come on Pete, since Kat is the new girl in town, should't we at least show her one of the most, or only, entertaining part of Bullworth?" I sat down next to Pete, looking into his eyes to let him know that I'm serious about what I was about to say.

"Look, Pete. We can all stand up for ourselves, and I will defend you, should anything happen. If you don't want to come, that's fine, but if you do decide to, I'm sure it'll be a great time having you around." He smiled slightly, and stood up.

"Okay. Let's all go to the carival then." I patted Pete's back.

"That's the spirit! So, let's spend, like three or so hours, then come back in time for Pete to go home and pack clothes?"

"Sounds fair." Gary contemplated.

"All right, I'll be taking my bike. Do you wanna go get your bike, Pete?"

"The carnival isn't that far, I'll just ride with one of you guys."

Once outside, Pete looked at my bike, looking a little unhappy.

"You don't have any pegs?"

"No, sorry Pete. I never had a reason to get any. But I will buy some soon though!"

Gary exited last, placing his hand over his heart, mocking a hurt expression.

" _Oh Pete_ , how could you? Choosing someone you barely know over your eternal best friend?"

"Shut up Gary, you're such a jerk."

"Can we go to the carnival now? Please?" I interrupted.

"Sure Kat, but I'll race ya." Gary challenged as he sat on his bike, Pete behind him.

"But I don't even know where it's at!" As soon as I finished my sentence, Gary sped off. I chased after him. As we raced down the road, I noticed that Pete was struggling to continue holding onto the back of Gary's seat. He soon saw me looking at him. 'Hug him!' I mouthed. With a bewildered, and disturbed look, he mouthed back, 'Why?!'. I laughed silently. 'Come on, it'll be funny! You're about to fall off.' Pete looked doubtful, but then wrapped his arms around Gary when he almost fell off from Gary hitting a bump. He immediately reacted, and yelped, "Pete! Get your damn hands off me!", causing him to slow down. I burst out laughing, and went ahead of Gary. I saw a sign above a tunnel entrance, saying that the carnival was only a fourth of a mile away.

I would've stopped to stare and admire the carnival, but I soon heard Gary's bickering behind me. I locked my bike onto a bike rack, and so did Gary. I couldn't hold back my smile from seeing Gary's bothered expression.

"What's wrong Gary? Cat got your tongue?" I teased. He glared at me, and bumped into me as he walked past me.

"Hey!" I turned my head to Pete, hoping for an answer.

"He doesn't like being touched at all, that's why I didn't really want to do it."

I went up to Gary, as he was in line for admission. I gently poked his side. Nothing. I poked even harder, making him jump, and let out a sound. I giggled.

"Can you guys cut it out with the touching? I'm serious!" He snapped.

"All right, just don't get your panties in such a twist!" He rolled his eyes, and faced forward. After we all bought admission tickets, I got myself cotton candy. I offered the boys some of it, and only Pete took a piece.

"So, guys, what will we do first?"

"We should walk around until we find something interesting to do." I observed my surroundings, and noticed a red and white tent.

"Oooh, we should all play games, and get prizes with our tickets, and go on rides after that!"

"There's go kart races, and a freak show here too." Gary remarked.

"Let's do those too!"

"Do the freaks?"

"Not like  _that_ , you know what I meant!" I huffed, nudging him with my shoulder. We ran up to the first game we saw, which was a baseball throwing game. We all took turns playing all the games available.

I yawned, snuggling into my stuffed bear. My heels ached from constantly walking and running around. I smiled deviously as I stared at the angelic halo and devil horns caps in my hands, thinking about sneakily placing them on Gary and Petey. I walked slowly, now behind the guys. I stuffed my bear into my back, then placed the caps onto them. The moment I did, I was giggling uncontrollably.

"The Hell?" I heard them curse in confusion, then grab at their heads. They took them off, and Gary stared at me, with slight disappointment at my childishness. My smile only grew more.

"Really Kat?" He raised an eyebrow.

"What? It's the  _perfect_ representation of your guys' personalities! Can I take a picture?" Gary narrowed his eyes at me, but I did my best puppy eyes at him, and pleaded. He looked away.

"Make it quick. And don't tell  _anyone_." He said as he put the cap back on. I squealed in happiness, and took out my phone. Gary had his arms crossed, looking away from the camera. Pete was standing next to him, delighted.

"There! Thanks guys!" They both handed back my caps. I put them inside my bag, and went back to carrying the bear. The sun had already set, but it was still light outside.

"Hey Pete, since there'll only be light for like half an hour, would now be a good time to call it a day?" Pete lifted his sleeve, checking his watch.

"Yeah. Do you have to go home soon?"

"No, I was just asking."

"Cool."

After arriving at Pete's house, my phone rang. I answered it while Gary and I followed Pete into his room.

"Hello?"

"Sweetie, your father and I have something important to tell you."

"What is it?" I sat on a chair, waiting, seeing Pete dig out stuff from his closet.

"The bridge leading to Blue Skies is still being built unfortunately. We have decided to take a ferry and work in a different part of New England tomorrow in the morning. We will be back next summer." My jaw dropped.

"What!?" I exclaimed, catching Gary and Pete's attention.

"Am I going to be home alone the entire time?!"

"We have arranged for you to stay at the dorms at Bullworth Academy. Mrs. Peabody, the prefect of the girls' dorm will show you to your room. Come home soon to pack your bags, and to say your goodbyes to us. Love you." My mom hung up the phone. I grimaced.

"What just happened, Kat?" Pete asked.

"My parents are going to be out of town for the entire school year, and I'll have to stay at the dorms." Pete zipped up a gym bag.

"When are they leaving?"

"Tomorrow in the morning. I'll have to leave soon to pack clothes." I rubbed my temple.

"Want Gary and me to go with you? I just need one more bag and I'll be done."

"If you guys don't mind, meet me at the school around... 9pm."

"Will do."

"Okay, thanks. See you later!" I heard them return the greeting as I left the room.

After throwing in the last suit case into the trunk, I slammed down the door. My mom came out of the house.

"What about the pets?"

"We've asked some friends here in Bullworth to take care of them."

"Who?"

"The Morris family. They're environmentalists, and seem to love animals as much you do. They have a son that goes to Bullworth, Chad. You should make friends with him, he seems very pleasant."

"Oh. Where's Dad?"

"He went to go buy tickets for the ferry. He will not be joining us. Let's go before it's late." She walked away, but stopped in front of the driver's door.

"Almost forgot! Here's $100, it's your emergency money." I grabbed the money, stuffing it into my backpack.

We went inside the car, and buckled our seats. As soon as the car started, I changed the radio to her favorite station, 98.7 _. Don't Speak_ by No Doubt began to play. I slumped back in my seat, looking up at the stars. Only in small towns can you really see all the stars at night. It reminded me of all those nights of going home after being in town, or school, I would sometimes look out the window, my eyes trailing up to the moon. I could only remember one name for a certain phase of the moon: waxing gibbous. Right before the moon reaches it's fullness. I could pretend it's fate trying to tell me something...

"Here we are, sweetie. Your friends are waiting." She smiled warmly. I came back into reality, and saw my mom was right. She popped open the back, and I went to go grab my bags. Gary and Pete helped me carry them. Standing in front of the academy, I set down my bags, and hugged my mom. I could feel a tear threatening to spill at the repressed memories that came as I was in my mother's embrace. I know I'm a teenager now, but I'm still a child at heart, and life hasn't always been so great. I opened my eyes, and my mom also had watery eyes. She grinned, and fluffed up my hair.

"Take care. We'll come back soon." She said softly. She hugged me once more, and then left for home. I breathed out, staring away from my friends, and then picked up my bags. I heard Pete and Gary whisper yelling to each other, but they soon stopped. We walked in silence to the girls' dorm, the guys leaving when I entered inside.

Just like my room, everything was pink. An elderly lady wearing a long plaid red skirt came from seemingly out of nowhere, and spotted me. Her face softened.

"Ah, you must be Katherine Presley. Your room is upstairs. Follow me please." She turned to her right. I huffed at the help she offered. I placed a large backpack on my suitcase, a small bag on top of the backpack, and placed a large bag on the other suitcase. I followed the lady, struggling to pull up my stuff. She went down the hall, and stopped in front of the second to last door. She opened it, talking to whoever was inside. I finally caught up to her, taking a peek into the room. The lady stepped away when I did, leaving me visible to the girls.

"Hey, it's you! That's who I was talking about, Angie. Have you thought about joining yet?" Christy piped.

"Hi Christy. No, not yet." I answered. A girl with short black hair looked at me curiously.

"Oh! Angie, Kat. Kat, Angie." Christy introduced us.

"Hello Angie." I greeted.

"Hi Kat." I felt awkward, but Christy stepped in once again.

"Sooo, these two beds are already taken, so you can have that one! We don't use that desk either, so you can have it too. We both share the locker, you can use it if you want." She offered.

"Umm, thanks. I think I'll unpack my stuff now." I hauled in my luggage, decorating my side of the room.

After I finished unpacking my shoes, undergarments, and other necessities, I kept the rest of my clothes stored in the luggage under my bed. I looked at my space, and felt satisfied that it all looked cute. I had replaced the blankets, sheets, and pillow provided by the school with my own. I changed into an oversized shirt for pyjamas. The other girls had already dozed off, making me jump into bed and dream comfortablely in my sleep.

*Two weeks later*

I was in Gary and Pete's room, enjoying some treats I had baked at home the day before.

"Pete? Why is your shirt pink?" His face reddened.

"Ummm, it was accidentally washed with some red socks.."

"Oh." I nodded, and continued devouring my cupcake.

"It makes your girliness stand out Pete." Gary teased.

"Gary, make fun of him one more time, and I swear I'll put lipstick on you." I threatened. His eyes narrowed, a grin spreading on his face.

"Pete-"

"Gary..." I growled.

"I think I'll start calling you Fem-boy!" I got up from my seat on the floor, Gary standing up too. He ran out the door, so I chased him. Pete protested, but he followed me anyways. I saw the doors slam shut, and heard Gary's laughter outside. I burst through them, Gary throwing some marbles behind him. I almost tripped, But I managed to evade them. I ran out of breath chasing Gary, so I stopped for a moment. I looked up to check my surroundings, seeing a boy with a tan jacket with jeans walking up the stairs to the main building. I squinted at him, but seeing Gary run from the other side of the school caught my attention. I chased him back into the boys' dorm.

I reached for Gary's sweater vest, and grabbed it. He stopped, trying to break free from my grasp. I pushed him to the wall, then ran inside his room with Petey, locking it. I giggled, knowing Gary couldn't come in. I walked off to his desk, seeing his belongings spread out. I noticed his medicine was missing.

"Pete, did Gary already finish taking his meds?"

"Uh, I'm not sure." Gary began to bang on the door.

"Hey, what are you guys doing in there?!" He barked.

"We're talking about feelings, you wouldn't like it!"

"You better not touch my stuff!"

"Don't worry, we'll be too busy painting our nails to even bother!" I heard his footsteps walk away from the door.

"Paint our nails?" Pete questioned.

"I was only trying to get him to go away." I giggled. Pete shrugged his shoulders. We went back to eating cupcakes.


	5. New Kid

"Shouldn't Gary have come back like a few moments after he left?" Pete asked.

I shrugged, and ate my cupcake. Once I finished gobbling it down, I stood up, flattening my skirt. I looked over to Pete, who was licking the icing off his fingers. I smiled at the cute picture of him, and luckily he was too busy enjoying the taste to notice me staring. I wondered what Gary was up to, so I slightly opened the door, and peered into the hallway.

There was music notably playing from the first floor, and found Gary talking to the kid I saw earlier.

"You should change into your uniform, if you don't want to get in trouble." Gary stood next to the first door on the left side of the dorm. Petey soon joined me, and walked over to Gary to see what's up. The door slammed shut, making Pete and me jump.

"So uh, who's the new kid?" Pete asked shakily.

"His name's Jimmy, and he thinks he so tough." Gary huffed. I snickered, causing Gary to look over to me with an angry look. I jogged down the hall, stopping right in front of him.

"What impression does he give to make you think that?" I raised my brow at him.

"Everything. The way he carries himself, the way he walks, his facial expression, voice, language, his clothes, everything." He glared.

I pursed my lips, and put my hands on my hips.

"Well. maybe he doesn't mean to. Maybe he just has a 'resting bitch face'? Besides, you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover; he could surprise you." All of a sudden, I heard Pete's voice, but he was no longer in my field of vision. I searched behind me, and found nada. Returning to my conversation, Gary was suddenly gone too.

"Guys?"

"Yeah, I've been expelled from anywhere halfway decent, 'cause I'm bad!" I heard Gary's voice mock. I directed my gaze into Jimmy's room, realizing everyone was in there.

"Give up the tough guy act, pal."

"Hey man, what's your problem?" Jimmy asked defensively.

"Well, AD.D. primarily. But also life, my parents, this school, western civilization... but really, honestly, enough about me. Oh, I see you've met the dorm's mascot. Ladies and gentleman I give you.. 'Femboy'! The girliest, boy in school. Petey, haven't you got some imaginary friends to go annoy?"

"Why don't you just leave me alone, Gary?" Pete responded.

"Yeah Gary!" I retorted. Everyone looked back at me, and I noticed Jimmy seemed a bit surprised.

"Is mama bear gonna come out now?" He taunted.

"You wanna fuckin' go?" I threatened, having enough of Gary's antics.

"Oooh, are you gonna get all feisty now?" Gary was clearly nothing else than amused, making me even angrier.

I snarled, and lunged at him. He moved out of the way just in time, and ran out the room. Before I did anything else, I thought I should introduce myself before beginning my trek of beating up Gary every time he insulted Pete. I removed any random strands of hair that were in my face, and grinned at Jimmy, who was perplexed by my actions.

"Hi! I'm Katherine, but just call me Kat! And you don't have to share your room with anyone, so you're pretty lucky."

"Um, yeah. Look, I have to unpack right now, so could you and Pete see me later or something?" Jimmy requested.

"Yeah, sure! We'll go ahead and get out of your hair!" I began to walk out with Pete ahead of me, but I knew that I didn't know anything of Jimmy, and I was deadly curious of him. I stopped, and gathered some courage to ask him a question.

"Hey, do you need help unpacking?" I wondered, and really hoped to bond a little with him.

"I guess I might need some help. You can go ahead unpack that bag over there." He pointed to a bag near his wardrobe. I crouched down, and began folding clothes, then placing them to my side.

After I finished, I look around to see Jimmy placing a journal and a comic book on his desk.

"The only thing you brought besides clothes was a journal and a comic?" I questioned him, raising an eyebrow.

"After moving around a lot, you kinda learn to pack light." I nodded.

"Anyways, since I just got here, would you mind showing me around?"

"Not at all. Follow me." I exited Jimmy's room, and soon the boys' dorm. I jogged down the stairs, and began making my way to the main building. As I walked with Jimmy slightly behind me, I heard his voice interrupt me overthinking about the way I walked.

"How did you not get in trouble being in the boys' dorm for so long?"

"I'm very sneaky... Not really though, the boys just usually aren't very observant of their surroundings, and I think they couldn't care less about seeing a girl in their dorm. No one snitches, besides the little kids. And I don't think any of the younger boys live in the dorm. So I tend to get away with it." We were now inside, surrounded by pristine light yellow walls that hadn't yet been covered in tags made by delinquents, or any rotten eggs splattered anywhere. Not yet.

"This, is your school." I presented the school in an obnoxious way, and received a repressed laugh from doing this.

"Oh no, not this again!" I heard Algie cry out from behind. I looked behind me, and of course, Gary was there, bullying him, and stealing his book just to throw it back at him. I rolled my eyes.

"Hey Jimmy, let me show you around!" Gary said gleefully, running off to my right. Jimmy and I followed him. He stopped in the middle of the hallway, not too far from Russell, who seemed to be guarding his locker.

"That's Russell's locker. You know, the big ape who almost put you in the hospital." Russell then jogged over to us, which scared the crap out of me. He towered over Jimmy.

"You like to eat fist?!" Russell threatened. Jimmy apologized.

"What'd I do? I'm sorry."

Give me cash. Now!" He demanded. Jimmy handed him a dollar, saying that they don't have to fight.

"Scuz face!" Whatever that meant. He pulled Jimmy into a headlock, then gave him a noogie.

"Next time you give more, doofus!" With that, Russell finally left us alone.

"Come on! Let's break into it and steal something. That'll teach him." Gary said.

"Um, if we steal something, that'll teach us, Gary. "

"Kat, Russell's so stupid he won't even notice anything is missing. "

"Fine. But if he comes after us, I'm blaming it on you." I warned. Meanwhile, Jimmy finally managed to open the locker, but a prefect that happened to be near by sensed our distress.

"You do know you're not supposed to be doing that!" He yelled. Gary immediately ran away to distract him. I looked to Jimmy, and he shrugged. We both ran the opposite way together, going right. I hid in a locker while Jimmy went elsewhere. Once all of the commotion had died down, I met up with the boys in our previous location.

"Okay, now what?" I watched Gary check his watch.

"Follow me guys."

Gary began to run again, and this time we ran into a crying Eunice, exiting the girls' bathroom.

"Hey! It's that weird chick, Eunice. Let's have some fun with her." At this point, I was worried about what Gary had in store.

"Talk to her! See what she wants." I cringed at Eunice's crying, hoping to get this over with.

"What's going on?" Eunice left out one last sniffle before replying.

"He took my chocolates! Please get them back!" I resisted rolling my eyes at the reason for her sobbing.

"You should get them back for her. Kat, stay here. Jimmy and I'll go get her chocolates." And before I could even complain, they ran out of my sight. I sighed, turning back to Eunice who had significantly calmed down. I've never really spoken to Eunice before, and I didn't want to be mean to her either.

"Who took your chocolates, Eunice?" I asked, crossing my arms.

"I think it was that kid with the really weird name. Constantine?" She narrowed her eyes in thought.

"Constantinos, you mean?"

"Yeah! That guy!" Just as she said that, they boys came back, Jimmy holding a pink heart-shaped box. He walked up to her, handing her the box.

"Thanks! Um, wanna make out?" I was surprised Eunice asked such a thing, and even more so when Jimmy began "kissing" her. It was so gross seeing them, I had to look away. The sloshing noises made by them didn't make it any better.

"You actually kissed her." Gary stated in disbelief. I made a retching sound, losing any sense of appetite I might've had.

"Jimmy, that's disgusting." I buried my face into my hands, feeling second-hand embarrassment. I peeked through my fingers to ask Gary what else he wanted to show Jimmy.

"Let's go to the cafe'. I'll show you who's who." Gary, once again, lead the way.

"Show him who's who? You never bothered to show Petey and me the cliques." I grumbled.

"You eventually saw them all anyway." Gary shook his head. We stopped in front of the entrance of the cafeteria.

"Yeah, when we went into their territories, and were chased out by them." We walked down the steps, and for once, all the cliques were there, hanging out in small groups.

"Feeding time at the zoo. Okay, here's the deal. Over there we got the nerds." Gary directed his gaze over to Earnest, Algie, and Cornelius, who were playing a game of  _Grottos and Gremlins_.

"Of course, they're complete social outcasts."

"They look pretty harmless." Jimmy commented.

"They're actually sneaky bastards. Their turf, is the library." Next to them, were the preps. Darby had his arm around Pinky, and I found it so disturbing that they date their cousins. But that was just one thing, out of a list of many, things I didn't like about the preps.

"And those are the preps. They're all money, and  _condescending attitude_." The way Gary moved his head, along with the face he made, made me giggle.

"Yeah, massively inbred, and completely brainless."

"Very observant, Jimmy boy." Gary complemented.

"Now over there are the greasers. They think they're tough." I noticed Johnny was leaning against the sneeze guard, making me wonder how gross his jacket must once he gets off of it.

"Or at least try to look tough." Jimmy intervened.

"Wouldn't advise messing with them. At least not yet. They hang by the auto shop. And last, but not least, the jocks. These guys rule the school. Definitely avoid them." Gary emphasized.

"Whatever, I'm not afraid of some dumb 'roid monkeys." I wondered how Jimmy would fare if he had to fight against someone tough like the jocks.

"You'll learn." After Gary said that, the bell rang.

"Come on, let's go." Before we could even walk up the steps, everyone crowded the entrance, pushing all of us back. I was pushed so hard, I fell on my butt.

"Ow!" I frowned, and unfortunately, Jimmy saw me fall. Great, hasn't even been a week and I've already managed to embarrass myself in front of the new kid. But instead of laughing, or teasing me, Jimmy held out a hand. I took it, and grunted as I got up. I felt something flutter in my chest.

"Thanks." I muttered, glancing at him.

"No problem." He grinned. Another flutter in my chest. I wondered why Gary hadn't said anything, but realized he was angrily staring after the crowd that had pushed us behind. We finally made it out of the cafeteria, but only to be chastised by a prefect.

"You're here to learn. Not to goof off. Get to class!" Gary immediately left us, going to Math since it was Monday.

"Wow, I can totally count on you to be loyal." I said to myself sarcastically. Jimmy pulled out his schedule, looking at it. The prefect soon left, and I noticed how bare the school was of students.

"Do you know where Chemistry is?" Jimmy looked up to me.

"Yeah, it's gonna be that door near the vending machine."

"Cool. What abou-"

"Just meet us up in the cafeteria during lunch time, which will be like 11:30ish. I can actually show you around, unlike Gary, who only made you open Russell's locker, make out with Eunice, which was really disturbing to watch by the way, and where the cafeteria was."

"All right, I'll just meet up with you guys then. See ya." Jimmy finally went off to class. I sighed, wondering if these small feelings will bloom into something more. Obviously Jimmy wasn't the prettiest boy, but he's surprisingly nice to girls. And Gary... Gary was-

"Hey! You! Are you skipping class!?" I heard a prefect say from behind me. My eyes widened, and I cursed under my breath as I sprinted off to class.


	6. A Compromise & Food

"Ow!" I yelped, and put my finger in my mouth. I felt a jolt of pain in my finger when I searched for my sketchbook in my backpack. Taking a look at the wound, there was a small cut near my fingernail on my left finger. Taking another look in my bag, I realized I cut myself with my tape.

"What happened?" Pete was sitting next to me.

"I cut myself with a tape dispenser and now my finger is bleeding a lot. Do you think Galloway has any band-aids?"

"I think the only thing he'll have in his drawers of alcohol are empty bottles of whiskey." He smirked. I huffed, hating how Galloway was always drunk during class. All he ever did was assign us a bunch of vocabulary words.

"Yeah, that's probably true. I'll just ask the nurse later. Is it time for lunch already?" Pete gazed at the clock on the wall; 11:24am.

"Ugh, no wonder I'm so hungry. What will we eat today? Edna's sandwiches that are barely considered edible, make our own sandwiches at my place, or food from town?"

"I don't know. Won't Jimmy be hanging with us now?" Pete scoot his chair back, and stretched.

"Ohhh, I almost forgot about him. Hey, what do you think about him?"

Pete gave me a curious look. "Jimmy? I guess he's alright, but he's kinda mean. He seems to have a soft spot for you, though." Hearing that sentence made my face heat up.

"I don't think it's just for me though." I looked away from Pete, wondering if what I said is even true.

"Should we put our stuff back in our lockers?" I said as I put my things away, along with the majority of the classroom.

"If we're not staying for lunch, yeah."

Once I had everything put away, I stood up, and slid on my backpack. It made me think about how I had completely forgotten my bag because I had been so deep in thought about Jimmy and Gary. I met eyes with Pete once I decided to stop observing the state of the classroom.

"Gaaary has... math, right?" I squinted my eyes with uncertainty, voice going up a few pitches.

"Yup." The bell rang, and the chatter from the students became even louder when the door opened. Pete somehow managed to escape being trampled by the students that filled the halls. After everyone left for lunch, we stuffed our things into our lockers, then left to meet up the other boys in the lunchroom.

Entering the lunchroom, I instantly found Gary and Jimmy sitting at the end of one of the lunch tables. I skipped to them, and slapped my hands onto the table, leaning forward.

"Sooo, fellas, what will we be doing today?" I gleamed.

"Not eat Edna's cooking. But before we do anything, I need to get something from my room first. You guys stay here." Gary said.

I sat next to Pete as Gary got up. I stared at him from behind as he left, and waited a few moments before I shot up from my seat and chased after him. I smiled to myself, and tip-toed up to him. Once I was only a few steps behind him, I yelled, "Boo!", but he wasn't even the slightest bit spooked. He turned his head slowly to face me, and raised a brow.

"Gonna take more than that to scare me. Weren't you gonna stay with your girlfriends?"

"Whatever Gary. I'll scare you one day, and I thought you would need some company." He opened the door, and almost closed it in my face. I scowled at him, and he chuckled.

"Fine, but don't go into my room with me."

"But then I'll be all by myself in the hallway!"

"You said you wanted to come, and you'll still be able to keep me company as I search for something."

"Ugh. Sometimes, I really hate you." I pouted.

"I know."

When we reached the boy's dorm, it was empty, as it usually was during the day. We walked down the hallway. At Gary's door, he motioned for me to stand next to it while he rummaged through his belongings. I half expected for him to slam the door shut, but surprisingly, he closed it softly. A little too softly, though, because the door began to slowly open. I grabbed the doorknob, about to close it, until I noticed how frantically he was searching through the dresser near the door. He was talking to himself, but it wasn't loud enough for me to hear.

Now he began to pull out clothes from his dresser, until he found what he had been looking for. A pill bottle, of course. But the label had been somewhat scratched off, and it was full. I thought now was a good time to step in. The door creaked open, causing Gary to jump. He stared up at me with doe-like eyes for a moment, then narrowed them into a glare.

"I thought I told you to stay outside." He said in a voice full of authority, which intimidated me a lot.

"And I thought you were supposed to be taking meds for your disorders. What's that in your hand?" I asked with a voice with equal force.

"It's none of your business, that's what." He clutched the bottle tightly, and hid it behind him. He slowly stood up from his spot on the ground.

"Gary, you are my friend, and I care for you. So please tell me what's going on, or I swear to God, I will make you." I threatened. The palms of my hands began to hurt from how hard I had been clenching my fists, my long nails stabbing me.

"So be it." He hissed.

I let out a yell as I tackled him, and this time I didn't miss. We were both growling, and Gary was continuously trying to push me off of him, but I was heavier than I let on. I laughed, knowing he wasn't gonna win this time.

"God damn it... Kat, why the Hell are you so heavy!?" I heard him utter. I continued laughing with a haughty tone, but soon fell backwards, and flat on my back. I groaned, looking around for him. I saw him getting up, but before he could make another move, I grabbed his foot, causing him to almost trip.

"Kat! Let go!" He attempted to walk away, but my grip was too strong.

"Tell me what this medicine business is!"

"No!"

"Fine!" I replied through clenched teeth, and tripped him. As he fell, I ran to the door to lock it. I stood in front of the doorknob, refusing access to Gary.

He stood up slowly, running his hand through his disheveled hair. His eyebrows we're knit together as always, his eyes burning brightly.

"Kat,  **get out of the way**."

"Make me." I stuck my tongue out.

His face showed how irritated he was. He walked towards me, and I couldn't let myself show how nervous I was from his intimidation.

At first, he thought he could pull me away easily by pulling my arm, but it didn't work. I grasped onto the doorknob behind me, then turned away to stop Gary from even trying to get a hold of the knob.

An exasperated sigh was heard from behind. My eyes peered at the wall, and I saw Gary's shadow throw his head back, and then placed his hands behind his head.

All of a sudden, I felt a pair of hands on my waist, tugging me away from the door with force. I tightened my grip on the knob, hoping that Gary wouldn't pull me off. But unluckily for me, my hands were starting to sweat, and my hold on it loosened.

"Ha!" Gary exclaimed, as he was now able to move me. He yanked me out of the way, quickly unlocking the door. Now was my chance to at least pickpocket the medicine.

I was unsuccessful, though, because right when Gary had unlocked the door, he looked back at me as sharply as an owl.

"Give me my meds." I slowly walked backwards, not a clue of what to do now. I closed my eyes, and breathed out shakily.

"Only if you tell me what's going on with everything."

"Everything?" He cocked a brow.

"Not literally everything, just what's been going on with all the medicines, and stuff." He turned to the side for a moment, then faced me again.

"Fine." He sat down on his bed. I looked at him for a moment, then sat across from him on Pete's bed.

"The pills that I had in my hand are the ones for my personality disorder, but I hate taking them because I feel like I'm not reaching my true potential with them. And I have other pills for A.D.D., paranoia, narcissism, stuff like that. People always called me psychotic or sociopathic whenever I wasn't on them." He huffed, fiddling with his watch. His eyes glanced up at me, probably to see if I was listening. He continued.

"The reason why I'm like this... Is because of my father. That imbecile got himself imprisoned, and that left me with a woman who couldn't care less about my existence. " He spat that last sentence out with great bitterness. "My grandfather lives around here too, but he's too embarrassed of his own son to even mention me. So that's my life story, are you happy now?"

I had absolutely nothing to say. I didn't know  _what_  to say.

"So I'm just gonna take these drugs, since there's no reason to heed any warnings." He shrugged.

I pursed my lips. "No, there are reason to heed  _all_  warnings."

" _Entertain me_ , Katherine." I rolled my eyes at him using my name.

"Um, first of all, your friends? Most of all Pete! He's been your best friend since like, day one! I'm pretty sure he's always been there for you, even if you  _always_  push him away. " He scoffed. I shook my head at him.

"And look! Now we're a cute little trio of friends. We're all here every day, whenever you need us, all right?" Gary picked at his fingernails, not listening.

"Not a trio anymore. A quartet. I suppose I could trust you and Pete, but Jimmy? No. Not while he keeps acting as if he's some big shot." I moaned at Gary's lack of cooperation.

"Oh my God Gary, if you could just-"

"You guys were taking long, and I was worried that you might've gotten in a fight..." Pete stood at the doorway, noting the state of his room. Shirts and pants thrown on the ground, the rug squished up. I sighed.

"We were just talking, that's all. You know how it is with Gary." I said, giving Petey a look.

"Oh, yeah. So are we still gonna go and eat out?"

"Of course!"

 

* * *

 

We were walking to Shinjo's, Gary and I managing to fall behind the boys. "Let's never speak of what happened." I heard Gary say. I looked at him, but he was facing forward.

I was confused. "What? Why? All we talked about was of your fam-"

"Kat, we will not talk about it."

I began to protest. "But-"

"Never." This time he was now facing me, with a stern look. I stuck my tongue out at him, and folded my arms. I felt so angry about this, that I jogged up to Jimmy and Pete.

So, what type of food does Shinjo's serve?" I asked Pete. He tore away from his conversation with Jimmy.

"Uhh, I thinks it's like seafood, or Asian. I can't remember." I began to observe my surroundings when I noticed a makeshift ramp made up of a table and two large pieces of wood. My eyes wandered around, taking in the faces of pedestrians walking by, quickly evading when they noticed me staring at them. All of the evasion eventually led me to the beach, which seemed so serene. It was almost a pity knowing how everybody considered Bullworth as a dump of a town, when it wasn't all that bad.

'But maybe it isn't my place to say that, I haven't even been here for a month to truly experience all of what this place had to offer'. And soon, we had arrived at Shinjo's.

A bell resounded throughout the restaurant as we entered, causing a few heads to look back at us. The restaurant was somewhat classy, something I wasn't expecting. It had a theme of brown and red, with an underlying tone of Asian-ness. There were Japanese characters on some walls, totally unreadable. There were red funky-looking lights hanging, and I was so distracted by the decor that I didn't notice we already had a booth ready for us. We all followed the waiter, and he outstretched his arm to our booth, which looked pretty neat. Jimmy and Pete sat on one side, while Gary and I filled the other side. We were handed our menus, and the waiter left to go attend some other folks. The pangs of hunger were soon unbearable as I scavenged the menu.

"What're you guys gonna order?" I asked.

"I don't know, I've never really had sushi, or even most of these things on the menu." Pete openly replied.

"Me neither." Jimmy added.

"The worst that could happen would be food poisoning." Pete was taken aback, unsure about eating now. I glared at Gary.

"Jesus Gary, you don't have to say that." I continued looking through the menu.

After we ordered our food, Pete started a conversation. "What were you guys arguing about anyways?"

"How much of a girl Gary is." Gary smacked me with his menu, and continued reading it.

"Why were there clothes everywhere?"

Gary was exasperated. "No reason, Petey." Pete slumped a little in his seat, upset from Gary's harshness. I jabbed Gary in the gut, which made our booth resound with a grunting sound. He gave me the dirtiest look, and I gave him a smug smile in return.

A sound of heels clicking came from behind, and made their way to our table. In front of us stood a young woman with a notepad.

"So, what will we be having today?" She grinned.


	7. This Is Halloween

I squealed in excitement, hugging Petey. "Halloween is today!" I gushed, squeezing his arm. Pete tried to make an angry face at me, but failed as he began to laugh at my elation. The incident with Gary from a few days ago all but forgotten. But for now, definitely forgotten.

"No prefects, no homework... Ah..." I sighed lazily, happy. And to top it off, Halloween this year fell on a Friday.

"You know what that means, right Kat?" Gary smirked.

"Matching costumes?" I guessed. He frowned.

"No, dummy. It means we can pull pranks." His devilish smile returned to his lips.

"Yeah, have fun with that." I looked away from Gary, instead staring at the leaves that fell from the trees. We all had completely different classes on Thursday, so we met up behind the main school building.

"Um, what do you mean? You're coming with us." I huffed as Gary spoke. " _And_ , I got a costume for you too."

"Oh, how considerate of you." I replied sarcastically. We passed by the section of the walled-in Boys Dorm where the fence was missing; I wonder how that had happened.

"I have a costume for myself already anyway Gary. I think I'll wear it instead of your lame one." I finally noticed Jimmy still hadn't joined us.

"Where's Jimmy?"

"I saw him talking with Earnest in the hallway. He's helping him with his election speech." Pete answered.

"That's utterly pointless. The only people that are gonna support him are all the nerds in the Astronomy Club. Ted's totally gonna win, unfortunately." I stated bluntly.

"We should go." Gary immediately turned to me with a baffled look on his face.

"Didn't you just say it's pointless?"

"Yes, but it's no doubt the jocks will be trying to ruin it in one way or another." I mused. Gary hummed in agreement.

"I love to see poor fools suffer. Let's go." Gary commanded. We luckily were just passing by the stairs, so we ran up, and inside the school.

Despite the election occurring today and also it being Halloween, many students still wondered around. We ran up to the auditorium, quietly creaking the door open.

A few heads looked back, but turned back to Earnest once they realized it was just more students. We sat close to the front, and I heard something fly by me. I noticed a jock doubling over in pain, holding his crotch, and limped out of our sight. I looked back to where the thing shot at the kid came from; the person up there protecting Earnest had been none other than Jimmy Hopkins. I smiled, and waved at him, trying to catch his attention.

He waved back momentarily, and took a shot at a kid wearing the mascot uniform onstage.

 

* * *

 

Once the speech had finished, it was nearing closing time for the school.

"Did you have fun, Jimmy?" I asked him.

"Yeah. I got a new slingshot too, so that's cool." He said, showing me the said slingshot.

"Oooh, can I hold it?" I requested.

"Sure." He handed me the super slingshot. It was a little funky, since it had a mini-scope for him to shoot from a ranged area. I gave it back to him.

"So, anyone else excited for today?" I exited out of the door first as Jimmy held it for everyone. The evening air felt rather cold, and I shivered.

"Not really." Jimmy admitted.

"We at least won't have prefects everywhere though." Pete reminded us. I groaned.

"Ugh, you guys suck. And why the heck is it so cold?" I wondered, rubbing my arms in an attempt to warm myself up.

"You live in Bullworth now, Kat. Now in sunny California anymore." Gary teased.

"Whatever. I'm going back to my room to change, and to get away from little gross boys like you." I said, sticking my tongue out at him. He pushed me playfully, but I was still freezing.

"See you guys later!" I waved goodbye to them as I ran off to the Girls Dorm. Once inside, I felt much warmer. I sat by the fire in the lounge to heat up, scrolling through social media on my phone, and left to my room once I felt better.

Although I would have liked to wear my own costume of an elf, I knew Gary would be extremely disappointed with me, and nag about it the rest of the night. I was also extremely curious of what he had in store. I sighed as I decided to text him.

 **Kat:**  I'll wear the costume.

 **Gary:**  I see you've come to your senses. Drop by Jimmy's room to grab it.

 **Kat:** Kk

I grit my teeth together, knowing fully-well Gary had the smuggest face ever after me giving in. I shook my head, putting on my mary janes, stuffing my phone in my pocket.

Standing in front of the Boys Dorm, I contemplated if I should really grab whatever embarrassing outfit Gary had in store. But there was also the chance of it being not some humiliating, or slutty costume, right?

I entered the dorm, now growing carless of getting caught by boys.

_'Sometimes Angie came in here too, right?'_

I was soon distracted by Gary's voice yelling, "Vhere is your kostume, you svine?" Making me burst into laughter.

Soon after he said that, I heard Jimmy's ushered voice kicking him out of the room. He was about to protest/insult, but stopped when his eyes landed on me.

"Ah, Kat, glad you could make it!"He announced. He held a large costume bag in his right hand, the other occupied by a riding crop. He threw the bag at me, and I caught it. Intrigued, I struggled trying to see what it was.

My worst fear had come true: an Oktoberfest costume. The corset was black, and the skirt a deep blue.

"Gary, I am  **not**  wearing this." I glared at him.

"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll still fit in it, regardless of your 12-year-old boyish body." At that, I felt my face grow hot, my jaw dropping.

" _ **Hey!**_ " I growled. "I have half a mind to slap the _living_  sh-" I stopped when I saw a black and white skeletal figure emerge from the right hallway.

"Jimmy?" I wasn't sure if it had been him. The skeleton's voice confirmed my guess.

"I heard yelling, what's going on?" He asked.

"Kat, was just about to head to the bathroom to change into her costume. Right, Kat?" I raised my brows.

"Um, I am not changing in the boys bathroom, of all places." I disregarded Gary's instructions.

"You can change in my room if you want. I don't have a roomate." Jimmy offered. I nodded, heading into his room.

After locking the door, I noticed the eternal messy state his room had been in. Magazines and pages scattered the floor, his bed unmade, clothes and shoes under his bed. I stared at the costume, still a little offended about what Gary had remarked of my body. I now had the strong urge to wear it, in spite of his comment.

Once I put on the dress, I looked around for a mirror of any sort, unable to find one. My last resort had been his closet, as I didn't want to intrude that much. Luckily, his wardrobe had a mirror, but it was small; I could only see up to my chest. I pulled the puffy sleeves of the dress off my shoulders, wearing it as it had been meant to be. Even with small frilly gloves, I still felt naked.

_'Maybe I should wear the cape from my elven costume, and a necklace.'_

I stuffed my uniform into the bag, and unlocked Jimmy's door. I found Gary laughing, while Jimmy helped a kid wearing an adorable pink bunny suit. I soon recognized the face as Petey.

"Hey Pete!" I bubbled. His head turned to look at me, his face red from embarrassment. Whether it came from wearing a pink bunny suit, or being stuffed in a trash bin, I wasn't sure.

"Hey Kat. Weren't you going to be an elf?" He asked. I directed my gaze to Gary to answer his question.

"Yeah, but  _someone_  insisted I wear this humiliating piece of clothing." I said, annoyed. "It's pretty cold, so I'm going to grab my cape from my room." He nodded.

I glanced back at Gary, since his eyes had been trailing over me when I first saw him. He furrowed his brows, going back to his conversation with Jimmy. I rolled my eyes, even if he couldn't see.

"I'll be back!" I said, running out of the dorm. The population of students now consisted of monsters and fairy tales. I smiled to myself.

 

* * *

 

Hooded cloak now in my hands, I placed it over myself as I saw Jimmy sticking a paper on the back of another student. I giggled as I saw everyone immediately kicking him. I walked down the small steps of the Girls Dorm, jogging over to the boys.

"So, pull pranks, and haul ass when we do it to a powerful faction?" I asked them.

"Pretty much." Said Pete. We were encountered by at least four other students to prank specific targets. It felt like a childish game of Hitman.

Finally, after about an hour or so students stopped asking us to pull their cruel pranks. The chilly air now the reason the for goosebumps on my arms and legs. I also felt tired, and I wondered why; I checked my phone, realized it was nearing midnight.

"We should pull off one more prank, before we call it quits." Gary said. I moaned, tired of walking.

"Gary, it's almost midnight." I complained.

" _Exactly_. The perfect time for the perfect prank." He sang. I scowled at him, but he ignored me. He lead us to the Harrington House. He suddenly stopped, turning to us.

"Okay, here's the deal. We're going to feed Chad's dog some of this rancid meat." Said dog barked at us, running gayly. "Wait for him to take a dump, and then..."

"What... what the Hell!?" Pete exclaimed. "I'm outta here." Pete was about to run away, but I grabbed his wrist. I gave him my puppy dog eyes, asking him to suffer with me.

"Fine..." He groaned.

"Whatever. OK, let's do this guys. I'll explain the rest later." I pondered of Gary's intentions, confused.

"Get over here you little mutt!" I heard him call to the dog. He started chasing it, Chad taking note of it. He put his phone away, and clipped, "Hey! What're you doing to Chester?"

"Distract him!" Gary ordered. Jimmy went to go fight Chad, and easily won after successfully dodging his attacks, and throwing powerful punches. As Chad fell to the floor, Gary now able to feed the dog.

"Here you go boy, how about a trick, for a little treat?" He cooed. "Yumyumyumyumyumyumyumyum." I laughed at his ridiculous flat tone as he said that. Without even knowing, he let the smallest of smiles slip, for only a second.

Chester chomped on the food happily, but soon pooped as the meat didn't do good to his stomach. He whined, and ran off. Pete made sounds as disgust with Jimmy, especially when Gary scooped up with a flimy brown paper bag.

"Score!" Gary effused. He handed the bag to Jimmy, who made sure to avoid touching the bottom of the it.

"All right, let's go to the teacher's lounge. You lead on." We followed Jimmy to the front of the school, and slipped inside.

Our steps echoed, bouncing off the walls as heels made contact with reflective tile. The halls were dark, only illuminated by the occasional Jack-o-lantern, and the naked windows, allowing the moonlight to pour in. Jimmy stood in front of the door to the lounge, looking to Gary for instruction. He motioned for him to set it down.

"Don't worry, it'll be funny." Gary assured rather loudly. He got down on one knee, lighting the bag with his lighter. Gary hid behind the classroom in front of it, and so did we. He told Jimmy to pull the fire alarm. The sound blared from the ringing bells placed around the school, shattering my ears.

I could barely hear when Gary yelled, "Okay! Get ready!"

"What the Devil is going on out here?" A voice chided from inside. Mr. Burton came out, and began to put out the bag of fire. As he did, he registered what the squishy substance inside was. He looked down at his shoes, now covered in gooey poo. "Oh! God! Damn kids!" He raged. I heard Gary cackle from behind.

"Haha! Nice one, Jimmy." He complimented.

The moment Mr. Burton saw Jimmy in front of the alarm, he began to chase after him. Before Burton could pass us, I stuck my foot out, effectively tripping him. I snorted, laughing. I fled with my friends, rushing to the Boys Dorm.

We shut the front doors, gasping for air. I slid onto my bum, removing my cloak. I laughed once again, seeing my friends in disheveled states like me. Jimmy's skeletal makeup was smudged from talking and fighting, Pete's bunny hood off his head. I noticed something out of the corner of my eye, and saw it was the nerd Thad, in his pyjamas, holding a mug. When he knew I took notice of him, he kept walking. I stood up, placing my cloak over my left shoulder. The boys eventually got up as well.

"I'm gonna take off this... stuff." Jimmy finished, heading upstairs. Pete and I walked in the same direction, until he got to his room before the stairs. He went inside, and I continued walking with Jimmy.

"Of course Gary left earlier than we did." I spat out. At the top of the stairs, we went down the hall, into the bathroom. It was exactly like the one in the Girls Dorm, except with a different color scheme, and had urinals. I also noticed the bathroom was directly above Jimmy's room.

Jimmy washed off the face paint, dying the water black and gray. I only fixed the smudged mascara under my eye with my finger. As he dried his face with paper towels, I asked him a question.

"So, what do you think of Gary?" I leaned against the sink. He glanced at me as he dried himself.

"Gary? He's kinda weird I guess. And boring." I chuckled. "What?" He asked, albeit defensively.

"Nothing, just don't let him hear you say that. He'll surely try to kill you." I smiled. Out of habit, I took out my phone, checking for any updates as we walked back down. I noticed it was now 1:02a.m. I swore under my breath, knowing it would be difficult to sneak past prefects, and Mrs. Peabody. Jimmy didn't miss the swearing, or the look on my face.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"Nothing, it's just that it's 1am, and I'm most likely going to die trying to get back to my room."

"Can't you just stay here?"

"I could, and I'm pretty sure either Pete or Gary would have extra blankets to borrow..." We unconsciously stopped in front of their room.

"So why don't you?"

"Gary might be in a good mood, but I don't know if it's good enough that he'd be fine with me staying with him and Pete."

"Just sleep in my room." I looked at Jimmy warily. He chuckled.

"Relax, I won't try to pull anything funny." I raised my brow at him.

"Really?"

"Really."

"Only if you leave the door open."

"All right."

Making up my mind, I knocked on their door. Not a heartbeat later, does Pete open the door.

"Can I borrow a pillow and a blanket?" I asked. He nodded, leaving to retrieve the items. I peeked my head inside, looking for Gary.

He laid in his bed, still wearing his costume. His hat covered his face, and I assumed he had fallen asleep.

Pete came back, with a pillow and a blanket. "Here." He yawned tiredly. I grabbed the stuff, thanking him. He nodded once again, rubbing his weary eyes. We wished each other goodnight, then he closed the door. Jimmy walked me to his room, opening the door for me.

Jimmy grabbed his stuff off of the bed, and made a comfortable spot on the floor. He motioned for me to sleep on the bed.

"Oh, are you sure? I can sleep on the floor, I really don't mind-"

"It's fine, Kat." He emphasized with a grin. "I couldn't let a girl sleep on the cold, hard floor." I still looked at him, and he reassured me with a pat on the shoulder. I placed the blanket on the bed, making myself comfortable, then placed the pillow beside me. I kicked off my shoes, and left my cloak hanging on the edge of the bedpost. Jimmy shut off the lights, and left the door ajar.

"Night, Jimmy."

"Night, Kat."

Jimmy had decided to sleep on the right side of the room, away from the door. I faced opposite of him, out of whatever courtesy that had existed here. My eyes were closed, my breathing steady, and yet my mind was racing with thoughts of today. I've had fun with Gary and Pete before, but now that Jimmy has joined our trio, it has gotten better. I wondered of whatever mischievous plans Gary might have for tomorrow. Er, later today.

I allowed my mind to come up with an endless amount of situations, until I dozed off into a dream.


	8. Boss Battles

I opened my eyes, just as the early morning light began to creep into the room. I closed them, groaning as I stretched in bed. Once satisfied with making my joints pop, I sat up, rubbing my eyes. I looked around, realizing I wasn't in my room, but Jimmy's. All the events of the previous day rushed through my mind, reminding me how I got here in the first place. I looked down to my right, seeing Jimmy tangled up in his blanket, softly snoring. I got off the bed, with a strong urge to use the bathroom. Knowing I wouldn't be able to hold it in, I make my way to the bathroom.

Coming back, I see Jimmy waking up due to his alarm clock. He grumpily turns it off, then returns to sleep. Me, feeling totally refreshed after splashing my face with water, I jump down to him, and began to aggressively shake him.

"Wake up! Wake up!" I exclaim. Jimmy begins to mumble something.

"Ten more minutes..."

He pulls the covers over his face. My eyes look to the right, thinking of a way to force him up. I smirk as soon as I come up with an idea. I yank blankets off Jimmy, and run to his windows to pull back all the blinds while yelling, "Rise and shine!" Jimmy finally gets up into a sitting position, then looks at me, annoyed.

"Can't you let a guy sleep in?"

I rush back to him, pulling him up with his arm.

"Nope! Today's a new day! And we gotta see what's in store for us!" I lead him to his wardrobe.

"I'll see you guys in an hour, 'kay?" I gleamed. He nodded, still groggy.

I bounced out of the boys dorm, doing my best to avoid the prefects as I go back to my dorm. Knowing I'd probably get snitched out on by the younger girls, I strap on my mary janes to climb up to the attic. After my clothes getting caught onto the trellis multiple times, I ungracefully landed on my face once I entered the window. I rubbed it, hoping I didn't get any splinters. I looked around, making sure there weren't any teenagers making out. Seeing that the coast was clear, I carefully tiptoed down the stairs. I peered out into the hallway, checking for Mrs. Peabody. I spotted her salt and pepper colored hair going down the stairs, warning Melody that she can't go out unless her homework was finished. As both were distracted, I quickly crawled to my room, which happened to be the door right next to the attic entrance. I quietly shut the door, and soon noticed the absence of both my roommates. I brushed away the thought of them, knowing they're probably out in town. Once I had picked the perfect outfit for the day, I removed my costume, and draped my blue towel over me. Grabbing my shower supplies, I was ready for a quick wash.

Tying my shoelaces up into a crooked bow, I was ready to take on November 1st. I jogged out of room, and sped down the flight of stairs. I continued running, slamming the front doors behind me as I made way for the boys' dorm. Inside, morning was normal. A couple kids here and there still in pyjamas, a nerd trying to get his book back from a bully, the guys trying to watch what's on T.V. despite the static. I mused around, until I decided to knock on Jimmy's door, even if it was wide open. I peeped my head inside, but it was empty of any freckled redheads. I turn around, going to Gary's room. Sure enough, I find the gang there, gathered around Gary, as he scribbles something on a blank page. I walk on over, and ask, "Whatcha doin'?" Pete and Jimmy both turn to me, but Jimmy goes back to watching Gary.

"Well, this school is full of a bunch of assholes, right?" He asks rhetorically. I nod.

"So the only way to restore peace is to take care of every faction."

"How are we supposed to do that? They're all lead by some big tough guy, except the nerds."

"Which is what we're trying to figure out, but we're not sure how. We were thinking of maybe individually taking them all down one by one."

"What, like some sort of boss battles?"

"Exactly!"

"Who's gonna bring the fight to them?  _Us_? I don't really wanna fight Russell. Or Ted. Or Derby. Or Johnny."

"Well, Gary was thinking of testing Jimmy's strength by making him fight Russell."

" _What_? You're kidding! And has Jimmy even agreed to this?"

"He's willing to do anything to stop the obnoxious rivalries."

"Okay, okay, what about-"

"And there! I've got it all planned out." Gary exclaimed triumphantly.

"Jimmy, you better stock up on some weapons if you don't want to get your ass handed to you." Gary smirked.

"Whatever." Jimmy replied, leaving the room. I watched his back, thinking.

"Wai-wait, is he really gonna do it?"

"Of course! Aren't you tired of getting walked on by everyone?" Gary teased, getting up from his chair. I purposely bumped into him with my shoulder, receiving a taunt for my action.

"Yeah but... are we really going to solve this with violence?" I was worried for Jimmy; afterall, he was going against the toughest person in the whole world. But if he could beat him, then this would prove he could really take on just about anyone.

"Actions speak louder than words." Gary raised an eyebrow as he said this, referring to me bumping into him.

"I think I got everything." Jimmy's voice suddenly said as he appeared at the doorway.

"Then, shall we go?" The familiar mischievous glint twinkling within Gary's eyes as he smiled a wolfish grin at me. I swallowed, following behind Petey, closing the bedroom door.

We ran to the school parking lot, ordered with the objective of beating up every single boy in the Bullies Clique, so they wouldn't interfere in the fight once they heard about it.

"Hey idiots! We're gonna beat you up! Isn't that right, guys?" Gary practically sang joyfully. Jimmy and Gary fought in the front lines, while Pete and I hid in nearby bushes to attack from a distance with slingshots. Jimmy and Gary were able to take down two of the bullies themselves, while Pete took down another. Since I wasn't helping much, I decided to sneak forwards to get a closer look; unfortunately, I was spotted by Christy's brother, Martin. As we made eye contact, he spotted the slingshot in my hands, knitting his red brows together as he put two and two together.

"Hey! It's the bitch who's been throwing rocks at us!" My eyes widened, frozen in shock and fear from getting caught. I only moved when Martin threw a punch at me, narrowly missing. I landed on my knees on the grass, preventing any scrapes on my legs. I was kicked forward, losing my balance on my hands, falling flat on the ground. I growled, turning around to see who had the audacity to literally kick my ass. Martin stood there, laughing haughtily at me. At this point, I had had enough.

"Why, you little-!" I lunged at him, tackling him onto the ground. He was surprised by my strength, and soon as well as my weight as he found it difficult to remove me. I sat firmly on his stomach, and pulled my arm so far back, I couldn't imagine the bruise I was about to leave as my fist made contact with his face. Once. Twice. Three times. I climbed off, and kicked him in the groin to assure myself that Martin was going to stay knocked out for a while. In a moment of victory, I spat on the ground. Though, it was short lived as I slowly looked up to see all three of my friends staring at me, astonished.

"Damn Kat. Remind me not to mess with you." Jimmy complimented, laughing.

"Yeah. You sure finished him off." Pete continued. I shook my head, embarrassed.

"Nah, it's nothing-"

"Come on, we don't have time to lose." Gary abruptly cut me off. He walked quickly into the downstairs basement, and I glared at him, even if he couldn't see. I sighed loudly, but I soon joined the rest of the group. After passing through the basement, we were walking down through a darkened hallway, surrounded by openings in the walls that I could only assume were made for the sewage.

"Remember James, I may have to taunt Russell just a bit in order to rile him up." Gary reminded Jimmy.

"Wait, what? Won't that piss him off?" Jimmy asked with concern in his voice.

"Hm. We'll see." I heard the smile in his voice.

"Gary, you son of a-"

Gary was already pushing Jimmy down the ladder, into the gigantic hole of sewage.

"Go down there Jimmy! I'll get Russell over right now."

As he did, people suddenly appeared from the corner, including Russell.

"Welcome! Ladies and gentlemen! Boys, and morons. I give you, Russell!" Gary loudly proclaimed, his sentence followed by loud cheering. Said challenger slowly climbed down the ladder, accepting his cheers. Jimmy backed away as Russell joined him in the sewer.

"Gary, I really hate you!" Jimmy pointed a finger at him, fuming.

"I know. Russell, go beat that little jerk who said that nasty stuff to me about your mom, and those barnyard animals."

"What?! Come here! Russell wants vengeance!" Russell walked over to Jimmy, pounding his meaty fists together.

Gary and Jimmy made eye contact one last time, and Gary winked at him.

Petey and I could only look at each other with surprise and confusion, shrugging our shoulders.


End file.
